The El Mirador trek through the Biosfera Maya is a unique experience taking in several ancient Mayan cities in the far north of Guatemala. This is not an expert or comprehensive guide, but it tells you what we know. I think it will help anyone planning to do the trek.
Overview
The El Mirador trek is both challenging and beautiful. Not many people do it, and it feels like a real adventure. You will hike through humid tropical forest and see the ruins of an ancient civilisation that collapsed over 1000 years ago. The trek is muddy, tiring, sweaty, bug-riddled and challenging on a lot of different levels, but you will be rewarded with incredible sunsets, wildlife, and a unique insight into the Mayan civilisation.
The Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive at the Cooperativa Carmelita office in Flores at circa 5am where you can make the payment if you have not done so already. You can also store your luggage in their office. Around 5.30am the mini bus arrives to drive you the circa 3 hours to Carmelita, where you get breakfast, hand over your pack for the mule, and get your wristband allowing you entry into the Biosfera. The first day's trek is around 18km trail to Al Tintal, the first archaeological site on the trip. You stop for lunch a little over half way through the trek. We started hiking at around 10.30am and arrived at camp at around 4.30, so probably spent around 5 hours walking in total (with one hour for breaks). We had a short rest at camp, with a drink and some fruit, and then were given a tour of the Al Tintal site, culminating in watching the mind-blowingly beautiful sunset from the top of the largest pyramid in this ancient city. This activity took a little over 2 hours, with around 2-4km walking. We got back to camp a little before 7pm, when we were given dinner and then had an opportunity to shower before bed.
Day 2: We woke up around 5.30am, had breakfast and set off around 7am. The trek today was around 25km, continuing north-northwest to El Mirador. We stopped for lunch, and arrived in El Mirador late afternoon. As with day 1, after some refreshments, we headed off again for another stunning sunset from the top of one of the pyramids at this site. Again, this took a couple of hours, with around 2-4km walking, arriving back at camp a little before 7pm, for showers (see details below), dinner and then bed.
Day 3 (the "rest day"): There were 3 walks today - one for sunrise, a morning walk, and a sunset walk. The El Mirador site is quite large, but you get to explore the main features of the site, and learn a bit more about the history of the Mayan civilization. This was where we saw (and heard) the most animals - loads of spider and howler monkeys, coatis, lots of birds, frogs and spiders. We probably hiked around 10-15km today. We did get an hour or so in the afternoon to lounge about in hammocks which was great! Also, worth noting that the guides will take you off somewhere if you want to go - some people in our group went to see where a plane had crashed in the jungle nearby.
Days 4 and 5 for the 5-day trek are days 2 and 1 in reverse.
For the 6-day trek, day 4 is a 15-18km hike south-east to Nakbe. A lot fewer people do this trek so the groups are usually very small, and the paths are also smaller and quieter. After arriving in Nakbe, you hike up the much older pyramid here to see another sunset; Nakbe predates El Mirador by around 1000 years.
Day 5 for the 6-day trek can be done one of two ways. You can either hike 42km to La Florida, a small and pretty crappy camp, or you can hike to Al Tintal (circa 25km). If you do the longer day 4 you only have around 10km to walk on Day 6 back to Carmelita and the route is entirely different to the route you took on the way out. It is also much less travelled. If you do the shorter day 4 (like we did) you have to hike 18km or so back to the village on the same route as day 1.
On arrival in Carmelita, there is a little tienda selling beers (highly recommended!!!) and you will be given lunch before transfer back to the office in Flores. As on the way out, the transfer takes around 3 hours.
Which tour operator?
My understanding is that Cooperativa Carmelita own the concession to run the tours, and they are the only ones running it. With the exception of one small alternative company who are closely monitored by, and pay a fee to, the Cooperativa.
So, if you book with someone else, they are just acting as an agent and charging a commission on top.
We have done a lot of tours on our travels, and a few multi-day expeditions. Our impression was that the Cooperative were excellent. They are really organised, nice people, and genuinely take the welfare of guests seriously. This is quite a hardcore trek, and the camps are basic, but the guides do genuinely look after you.
How easy is booking?
Information from Cooperativa Carmelita can be a little... um... sparse. They take 'laid back' to an almost horizontal level. That was the main reason for writing this blog. Most fellow trekkers said they had very little information in advance and didn't know what to bring. The Cooperativa don't publish information on the distances you walk each day and in general are quite hazy about them; in fact, they may not know exact distances, so everything we are writing is our best guess.
Nevertheless, if you book the trek, they will be ready to take you. To book, you need to send pictures of your passports, and pay in cash or card (with 8% transaction fee) on the morning of the first day (or before).
Do you need Spanish?
Basically, yes. You will want someone in the group to speak Spanish. We speak a bit and could catch about 70% of what was said, and we had a Guatemalteca with us to act as a de-facto translator. On the first day, it is worth finding out who speaks the best Spanish in your group and encouraging them to translate the information the guide is giving you. You will have a much richer experience when you understand: information on local flora and fauna, Mayan history and myths, and, in our case, (possibly tall) tales of people dying in the jungle! Our guide was involved for 10 years in the excavations at Mirador, Tintal and Nakbe, so we really had first-hand expertise.
How hard is it?
Depends on what you are used to, but I would say it is hard. Walking 25km on a flat path in temperate climate would be tough for me, but add in the mud, uneven terrain, heat, and constant insect attacks, and you have a much more punishing experience. We bottled it on the 42km route for the 6-day hike because we thought we would end up as jaguar food.
If you are squeamish about mud, dirt, unsanitary conditions, insects, etc. then this is probably not the trip for you. No shame in that, but don't put yourself through something you won't enjoy!
Weather
The weather has a big impact on your experience. We were super-lucky with our trip (in January): sunny, not too hot, and only ever a light rain. 2 weeks before, some friends had completed the trip and had tales of wading shin-deep through mud. If you have the flexibility, use it to pick a good period for the trek. Ideal conditions are when there have been a few dry days before and no predicted rain.
Camps and facilities
The Cooperativa travel with at least one guide, one cook, and one muleteer per group. Every day starts at 5 or 5.30am with packing up, breakfast, and hitting the road. Every day ends with some kind of sunset walk, dinner, and then (for us at least) early to bed.
The Camps
The camps are pretty basic but you get a good tent, mattress, and a thick blanket. Ablutions vary:
Al Tintal which has some basic cold showers and flushing toilets
El Mirador and Nakbe toilets are a loo-seat on a box over a hole in the ground. The showers were hilarious: a bucket of river water under the stars.
The Food
We had a fabulous cook, Ingrid, who managed to generate mountains of tasty, humble food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Vegetarians are easily catered for, but you need to tell them in advance.
Fussy eaters might suffer. Expect lots of tortillas, beans, eggs, pasta, and veg. There is often meat. There was fruit on offer at every meal: typically watermelon, apples, or papaya.
They give you water in the camps to refill bottles, and the guides carry a few litres of spare drinking water on the hike, so you can top up your bottle en-route. Fresh and carton fruit juice are available at meal times, and there is instant coffee and herbal teas in the morning and evening. At El Mirador, the guy that runs the camp has a fridge full of beer for sale.
What to pack
It is an absolute life-saver that a small mule-caravan supports each group. This means you can pack a rucksack for camp an have a much lighter day bag. Having said that, don't pack a suitcase or the mules won't be able to carry it!
Here's what I would pack next time.
Bags
A lightweight day bag, either waterproof or with a cover.
A waterproof bag for inside your day bag, to protect your phone and whatever else is going to suffer with the wet.
A backpack to go on the mules. It will get bashed about and dirty, so we use a lightweight rainproof stuffsack to put the backpack in.
Half a dozen plastic shopping bags. You will find that you start wanting to separate your 'clean-clean' clothes from your 'almost-clean', 'slightly-dirty', and (of course) 'hazardous waste' clothes that are only fit for scaring away hungry jaguars.
Clothes
The operator suggested two sets of clothes: one for trekking, and one for camp. We took a bit more and really appreciated it. If the weather is good, you can wash and dry clothes by hand at the halfway point (El Mirador), so plan based on that.
The reality is that you will be filthy, sweaty and disgusting. You might as well re-wear your hiking clothes as the marginal increase in disgustingness after one day is pretty minimal. I swear the mosquitos were repelled by my smell after 3 days!
Two pairs of 'longs': one for walking, one for camp. There are lots of mosquitos and ticks, and angry ants are a common hazard in the forest, so long stuff is better than shorts. A lot of the women hiked in leggings, and Kathryn said she would next time as the ants seemed pretty good at climbing up looser trouser legs.
Underwear for 3-4 days, (assuming washing at El Mirador).
3 t-shirts or light tops, and maybe a long-sleeved t-shirt for the evenings.
A jumper is not a bad shout for sleeping in. It can act as a pillow if it is warm, but it was cold at night and in the mornings so a nice warm sweater was great.
Sun hat, sweat bands, and we had very lightweight scarves for the neck and shoulders. There are a few bits where it is really sunny, especially at the sunset pyramid hikes. And mopping the chemical-sodden sweaty swill from your eyes with some kind of rag is more effective than using your filthy hands.
Lightweight raincoat: nothing too heavy, but if it rains hard (which it can do) then you will be miserable without it.
Shoes: no matter how good the shoes, you will get blisters and footsore unless you are used to these distances. But have really good, very comfortable shoes. They will get absolutely filthy and you will probably be walking shin-deep in stagnant water mixed with mule-crap. So don't be precious! For the camp, definitely have flip-flops or crocs. One absolute star in our group had sparkly sandals for the camp to give her a morale boost - this is a good idea if it works for you!
Toiletries
You don't need a lot. You will be utterly repulsive after about 3 hours of hiking and will probably stay that way until you get back to Flores.
Multi-purpose travel wash for the body, hair and for washing your clothes in El Mirador (where you have two nights so stuff can dry during the day). We use biodegradable because there is no waste water treatment in the camps.
Deodorant - you don't want to be the one creating a fog of body odour for the rest of the group to pass through.
Tissues/toilet roll for 'wild weeing'. Mainly for female trekkers. The camps all have toilet roll provided but if you are caught short in the jungle it is nice to have some tissues in your day pack.
Hand sanitizer: I definitely don't recommend reading the CDC's view on all the horrible things that will happen to you in the jungles of Peten, but hand sanitizer gel in your day pack is a very good idea. You will be coming into hand-contact with a lot of muck, so hand gel is the perfet way to prevent you transmitting whatever is living in the mud to your mouth and stomach.
Medical kit
I strongly advise taking a little kit with you. We always travel with one and became a sort of travelling dispensary for the group.
Plasters, blister plasters. I prefer the long strips that you cut to size
Hydrocortozone or bite cream. You will get bitten by ants, mosquitoes, and ticks. Hopefully not jaguars.
Bug spray. Go full DEET! Almost every little shop in Flores sells green bottles of OFF! brand, high-DEET repellent. I would recommend one full can per person. We had 2 not-quite-full cans and ran out on day 5.
Painkillers (lots of and different types so you can double up!!!)
Loperomide/Immodium. Around 30% of our group had some kind of stomach problem and it really ruins the trip.
Antiseptic cream, for cuts and weeping bits. In the jungle these will get infected quickly.
Sunblock. Most of the time you are in the shade, but if the sun is shining at the top of a pyramid then you will definitely need it.
Needle: for popping blisters, but make sure you sanitise it in boiling water before operating.
Baby/talcum powder: Useful for preventing sweating running down your face, or to reduce chafing when walking in sweaty, damp conditions for 10 hours. I wish I'd brought some with me and suffered by the end of the trek.
Useful kit
Things that were super-handy...
Powerbank for recharging your devices. You could pay to recharge your phone at El Mirador, but otherwise there are no charging points or plug sockets. A solar charger will only work if you have sun.
Torch. Particularly a head torch. You will need it for coming back from sunset hikes, showering and for going to the toilet in the night. Pack it in your day bag as sometimes the mules don't arrive before the sunset hikes set off.
Pen-knife. We have a great little Victornox one that we take everywhere with us. Really useful for running repairs to anything, cutting up plasters and even cutting your nails!
Good camera, or phone with a good camera.
Earplugs if you need them - there may be snorers in your group, and one night the Howler monkeys were really loud!
Snacks. The food was great and the portions were big, but sometimes you need a little pick-me-up while walking. We asked the cook for apples on day 5 and they were a godsend. Next time we would definitely take some snacks. We would also take rehydration powder next time. The temptation is not to drink much to minimise toilet trips, plus rehydration salts are a really good way of boosting energy.
Overall, we really enjoyed the trip, and hope that, if you are considering doing it, this blog helps you be as prepared to enjoy it too.
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